


Out of Place

by you_stole_my_crush



Series: Phck this! I'm out. [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental overdose, Angst, Because RK1K Is so soft for Gavin, Domestic Fluff, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Established Relationship, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Tries, Good Elijah Kamski, Guilt, Hank & Connor & RK900 Are Oblivious to Gavin's Feelings, Hurt, Jealousy, M/M, Neglect, Payback, Pining, Pining Gavin Reed, Protective Gavin Reed, Regret, Slow Burn, Soft Gavin Reed, hankvin1700, rk1k - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2020-09-27 23:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20416162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/you_stole_my_crush/pseuds/you_stole_my_crush
Summary: Connor likes caring for Hank, Richard likes caring for Connor, and Hank is very protective of the two androids even if he has a weird way of showing. Then there's Gavin... well, Gavin is not important.That's ok though because he's used to not being cared for.Being set aside when he is no longer needed is just the story of his life.Well, not anymore.





	1. Never there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last of the last straws.

Gavin was not sure how or when things got the way they did. He was not even sure about what he was feeling. The only thing he knew with certainty was that it hurt.

It hurt a lot.

There were days when he felt like a fool; days when he looked back at the moment he had made the decision to let Connor and Hank drag his and Richard's relationship into theirs and just wanted to punch himself in the face. There were days when he felt stupid; days when he would look back and only see how much of an awful partner and boyfriend he really was. And would then realize that what was happening was entirely his fault. And then there were days like this - the type he hated the most - days when he would force himself to sit there and watch as the only three people he had finally let into his heart slowly drifted away without as much as sparing him a glance.

Well, one thing was for sure: he had it coming. He had to admit at least that much.

He assumed being an asshole to everyone around him had been the safest way to keep himself from being hurt again. But if his relationship with Hank, Connor, and Richard had taught him anything was that the higher you built your walls the bigger the damage when they all fell down.

He could feel each crack, each piece of those walls, crumbling down and trying to bury him under. That was how he felt whenever he was forced to face the reality that his presence was no longer worth his partners and lovers' attention. Lately, they barely even registered his existence.

"No, Hank." Connor was staring at his partner with a frown. He probably thought he looked intimidating somehow. Gavin just thought he looked adorable and knew Hank would probably be thinking the same. "You're not moving until help is here."

"Christ' sake, Connor, I'm fine!" The older man tried to roll his shoulder but ended up wincing and stopping halfway. "Shit-"

"Hank, Connor, are you ok?" Richard questioned stopping by the duo. Gavin noticed even from a good distance away that his LED was rapidly spinning red and yellow - a sign of worry, or stress as he had been told before.

"We're fine," Hank said with a quiet sigh. "I'm too old for this type of shit."

Richard and Connor looked down at the man with concerned faces. And surprisingly it was Nines who spoke first;

"This could've been a lot less painful to you if you had listened to Connor instead of just recklessly barging in, Lieutenant." Gavin couldn't help the feeling of envy that sparkled inside his chest. Not that long ago those beautiful blue eyes would stare at him with concern when he did something crazy during a bust. Unfortunately, right now he was invisible to those eyes - or any eyes for that matter.

"Sir," one of the paramedics tapped him on the shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts. It took Gavin a moment to process the fact his wounds were being addressed, "You're bleeding. Please come this way so we can have you checked out."

She looked young, Gavin noticed. Not even sure why he had taken note of something as irrelevant as that. He was probably confused after losing a good bit of blood.

_Losing blood_, Gavin glanced back at the spot where Richard and Connor were still hovering over Hank with yellow LEDs flashing rapidly. The detective didn't need to think too hard to make a decision then; "Could you please have a look at that officer first? I feel ok, but his partner seems very concerned."

The paramedic gave him a questioning look after glancing at the Lieutenant - who looked fine apart from the constant bitching. "I think we should take a look at your wound first, sir."

Gavin crossed his arms in a stubborn manner and gestured to Hank and the androids with a nod. "That man over there was my mentor and role model for a long time. Just make sure he's fine."

Giving up, the paramedic shook her head and started heading towards the trio with a sigh, "Suit yourself, officer."

The detective only stayed enough to make sure the paramedic actually checked on Hank. After that, he headed back to his car and immediately drove himself to the closest ER available.

Working while trying to deal with a healing bullet hole sucked, Gavin had to be honest about that. Sitting at his terminal was hell, getting up to get coffee was also hell, and running after suspects...well, that was the ultimate level of hell.

He tried to push through it during the first few days - actually held himself together for 72 hours. But there was just so much a man could handle and he reached his breaking point when Richard decided that helping Connor instead of giving him cover was the best choice. The detective was forced to wrestle their latest suspect, on what was looking like a terrorist threat and ended up with ripped stitches, mild blood loss, and renewed pain.

That night, after he left the ER alone once again, he had a huge paper bag filled with pain medication to help him get on with his daily routine without becoming a liability to any of his partners on the case. Which by the way was very ironic considering the trio was getting more and more reckless lately.

The medicine worked pretty well. It took the group four more days to gather enough evidence to build a solid case and a whole lot of pain medication to manage to catch the remaining suspects before they blew something up. But in the end, they managed to close the case. Fowler was satisfied, the media backed off, and Detroit was once again saved.

The only problem was that Gavin never got back to the station after the final bust that got the remaining suspects behind bars.

Richard waited for four hours. And since him, Connor and Hank had plans to hang out together both of them had to wait as well.

They tried calling the detective several times, but he never answered. Hank reassured Connor and Richard that the other man was just being an asshole and probably was already getting drunk in some bar downtown while they were left with filling reports. Ironically enough, Connor and Nines agreed that what Hank was saying made sense and decide to move forward with their plans for the evening.

It wasn't until the next morning when Gavin didn't show up to work and still wouldn't pick up his phone that worry finally set in.

"Captain, I would like to head to detective Reed's house to make sure he's ok" Richard informed Jeffrey. "He has not been seen since yesterday after the apprehension of our last suspects and all attempts to contact him have failed."

Fowler didn't even look up from his papers, "Make sure to let him know I'm still expecting his signature on those reports. It's his case too, so he should finish working on it."

The android merely nodded before walking out.

Richard caught the worried look Connor sent his way as he walked toward the exit and informed the other android of his worries. Connor obviously offered to accompany him. Hank obviously decided to tag along.

When they got to Gavin's apartment, they were very surprised - well, Connor and Hank were. 

"Wow," Hank looked around with wide eyes. "Never took Reed for a neat freak."

The apartment was spacious. The living area was connected to a medium-sized kitchen and it also connected to a hallway with several doors. And despite the man's personality, his house was very organized. Connor and Hank couldn't help the urge to wander around and explore. The lights were on, despite being daytime, but everything was silent.

They found the detective inside the last room down the hall - the only place that looked messy, his office. Gavin had his head pressed against his hands over the table.

"Gavin?" Richard called, his voice sounding strangely uncertain as he walked closer.

There was no response at first, but when he touched the man's shoulder Gavin lifted his head slowly. His gray eyes turned lazily in the android's general direction, and it was easy to tell he was not really focusing on anything.

Connor was right behind Nines when they entered the room and was the first one to realize what was happening. He knew Gavin hated it, but at times like this Connor ended up scanning him and Hank without even meaning to.

"He's having an overdose," Connor said with what sounded like surprise and annoyance. Stepping around Richard, he got to where the human was sitting. He frowned as he stared into Gavin's pinpoint pupils, while the man's gaze didn't even meet his. His breathing was slow and weak and Connor could tell Gavin had no idea of what was happening.

"Opioids," Richard informed after scanning the room and spotting a few bottles of pills on the edge of his desk. "We might have to take him to the hospital."

Once again Gavin let his feeling get in the way of self-preservation. He got shoved so hard while wrestling a suspect who looked ready to shoot at Hank that he got his stitches ripped one more time. But he was tired of that goddamned hospital so he just walked away from the scene and went to his car where he had a few of his meds and a first aid kit.

Patching himself up wasn't even that hard. It stung a little bit, but he was used to the feeling. What he wasn't used to was the pleasurable sensation the pain meds gave him. All the pain and even the hurt from everything he had been forcing himself to go through the past weeks because of his partners just felt very distant. He realized it felt good to not feel anything.

His body felt like it was floating and by the time he got to his apartment, he could only think about sitting somewhere and resting his eyes.

When Gavin opened his eyes again he expected the comfort of his sheets against his skin and the familiar fragrance of the ginger ambient freshener he got from his brother the last time they had dinner together - it always made him feel like at least one person still cared. But instead what Gavin found were white walls and an uncomfortable bed in a cold room that he didn't recognize at first. In fact, the only moment he realized he was in a hospital was when he tried to rub his face and felt the sting of an IV connected to his arm.

To say he was confused would be an understatement. He had absolutely no idea of what had happened or of how he had ended up back in that place - he had been going there a lot lately. He should probably stop...He was talking to himself in his mind again. Was that considered unhealthy? Was he going crazy-

Gavin's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Detective," Richard's voice made his eyes trail towards the room's entrance. "You're finally awake."

It felt strange hearing the android say that again after almost two months of completely ignoring him. Gavin felt his chest ache with the realization that he had meant so little to him that it was easy for the android to drop him like he was nothing; like what they had before had meant nothing. Especially when it had meant a lot to Gavin; it had meant everything.

"_Gavin_," hearing his name leaving those lips only made it hurt more now.

"Y-yeah..." Gavin pushed the words out despite feeling like that was physically tiring. "Apparently I am..."

For what felt like an eternity all he could do was stare at Richard. In the white clinical lights of the hospital room, Gavin could see every single detail on that beautiful face - Elijah had gone all out with the RK series' designs, Gavin had to give him that. Richard was beautiful. And yes, Connor was also beautiful, but Richard had something more. Something mysterious and intimidating that made him attractive instead of endearing like his predecessor. Gavin found himself wondering what had made him believe he had any chance with any of those two beings.

They were perfect while Gavin could only be...well, Gavin. And to be honest, he didn't blame any of the two androids for choosing to stick with Hank - he was a good man despite his addiction to alcohol and junk food. And he was caring and could be more than just their lover.

Different from Gavin, Hank could be their friend.

Hank was the best choice when it came to becoming a family.

"Five minutes and thirteen seconds," Richard's voice snapped Gavin out of his thoughts again. "That's the longest time I have ever witnessed you being silent."

Gavin saw the android's lips twitch in a small friendly smile. He knew Richard expected a sour response, but Gavin felt oddly tired. Not in the best mood for games.

"Guess you haven't been paying much attention lately..." Gavin said with a shrug and looked away to the rain hitting the window. If he had been looking at his partner he would have seen the way the android's look shifted from playful to uneasy and concerned. "Since you're here I suppose Hank is doing ok?"

It took a second longer for the android to formulate a reply, "Yes, Lieutenant Anderson is recovering well."

Gavin nodded once. He was still avoiding eye contact, Richard noticed.

"Gavin-" Nines tried to say, but Gavin ended up cutting him off.

"I'm sorry you ended up having to deal with all the reports and filing in of the evidence." Richard's LED turned red when he noticed Gavin's stress levels rising. "I guess I was kind of tired and messed up the time for the pain medication or whatever. The doctor told me what happened, but I didn't really understand." Gavin finally looked at Richard. "Anyway, sorry."

"I'm sorry," Richard spoke in a quiet voice. For a moment Gavin even thought his ears were playing tricks on him.

"W-What?" He stared at his partner with furrowed brows.

"I'm sorry."

For a long moment, Gavin's only reply was silence. He wasn't sure if the lack of a proper response was due to how confused he was or if it was just from shock.

"Y-you're sorry... Why?"

"I..." Richard looked almost in pain as his LED flashed in rapid circles of red and yellow. Gavin didn't like it. "I _feel_ like I should have been there. I wish I had come to this realization earlier. I forgot about you."

_Ah_, Gavin wanted to laugh. _Joke's on me then_.

"No," Richard formulated. "It's impossible for me to forget. What I mean to say is that I didn't think about you. I don't know what exactly happened, but I did not think of you at all for the past few weeks. The strangest thing is that we see each other every day. I don't know what this... _feeling_ is."

_It's ok_, Gavin thought and forced himself to nod again. "It's fine."

Their conversation somehow ended just like that. Richard never visited again. Connor and Hank never showed up. Tina and Chris dropped by once to wish him well, but that was it. Eli sent him thousands of texts begging him to let him drop by, but Gavin wouldn't let him. He was far from ashamed of being the man's brother, but he still didn't want to be known as Elijah Kamski brother. He wanted to keep being just Gavin. Gavin Reed.

Elijah hopefully understood him and didn't push - or maybe he just got tired of arguing. He still demanded that he dropped by as soon as he was discharged.

It took a week for Gavin to finally be discharged from the hospital. They wanted to make sure he wasn't a danger to himself and was not addicted to the pain medication but by the time he got out he had had enough time to think of what he was going to do about his situation. Which brought him to his Captain's office as soon as he walked into the precinct.

"What do you want so early in the morning, Reed?" Captain Fowler didn't even look up from his work - as per usual. And for once, Gavin didn't mind.

"I quit," the man stated calmly, while simultaneously handing over his badge and gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this idea for a while but life keeps getting in the way!  
Just know this will be updated very slowly since I have so many other stories I want to post in this series.


	2. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The DPD finally notices something is amiss.  
Meanwhile, Gavin needs some time to pick up the pieces of his broken heart, so Elijah and Chloe take him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I struggled to get this chapter done. Which, by the way, is ridiculous, seeing as I have had at least 12 of the next chapters planned out and half-written already. BUT this is important despite it being mostly a filler and dialogue-heavy.
> 
> Beta? WHo'dAt?
> 
> BEAR WITH ME PEOPLE. I BEG OF YOU.

"Hey, Nines!" Officer Chris Miller called after Richard and the android turned away from his conversation with his temporary partner Tina, in his direction. "Have you seen Reed? I thought he was supposed to come back this week?"

The tall android didn’t fail to notice Tina’s intense stare at the mention of Reed.

It had mostly been a silent rule between the two, as they worked together, that they wouldn’t mention the absence of Gavin, or what had happened between the two while the detective was still in the hospital. Mostly to avoid an argument and any awkwardness, mostly for the sake of Officer Chen. But Richard knew his last conversation with Gavin had meant they were over, and it was no surprise the man would have talked about it to Tina - she was the closest to a friend Nines had known the man to have.

In any case, and despite what everyone at the precinct suddenly seemed to believe, Richard didn’t always keep tabs on Gavin Reed. Maybe at the beginning. And definitely, when they finally got together - the human was soft and fragile in his arms, and it made him feel powerful - since he didn’t anyone to take that away.

But that feeling slowly disappeared. And despite his super-advanced processors, Nines couldn’t find the exact moment when he stopped caring about his partner.

He assumed it had happened after their experimentations with his predecessor and Lieutenant Anderson. The experiences showed Richard there was so much more he could have than just what Gavin had to offer, and-

_Oh_...

”Nines?” This time it was Tina’s voice who called him, snapping his out of his thoughts. He glanced at her for a brief second, catching a look resembling concern.

”You ok there, Nines?” Chris asked with furrowed brows.

”I’m afraid I have no knowledge of why Detective Reed hasn’t shown up for duty yet, Officer Miller.” Nines placed his hands behind his back. “But you’re correct. His leave should have ended six days ago.”

Chris frowned a bit. “Weird. Reed has been addicted to work for as long as known him.”

It was true and the whole precinct knew it. The man had a record of showing up after being injured on duty or burning with fever like it was nothing. And while some thought it something sad - only having his job - others, like Chris, who really looked up to Reed and Anderson, thought that showed great devotion.

Nines tilted his head. He was quite aware of Reed’s work records. He had had zero sick leaves during the past 7 years, so getting such a long one right now did leave an impression.

”I’ll say...” Tina started in a cheery voice and walked over to where Chris was standing and slapped him on the back. “How about we swing by his place after work tonight? Just to check on him.”

“Sure. Ok.” Chris didn’t seem too sure at first, but his face soon morphed into a decisive one. “I tried calling him, you know? But he didn’t pick up, so I'm a bit worried.”

Richard stood quiet as he observed the exchange. There was an odd abnormality on his coding that he had recognized as some kind of _feeling_, he just wasn't sure what feeling that was.

For some reason, witnessing people speaking about something that had once belonged to him as if he wasn't even there, made him feel uncomfortable; _upset_.

"Alright. See you later, Chris." Tina nodded as the other officer walked away. When she turned back to face the android again she still looked like she wanted to say something, but ultimately seemed to change her mind.

Richard didn't particularly care. He didn't feel a connection to Officer Chen as his partner like he had with Gavin.

Perhaps it was all a matter of habit. Perhaps he just didn't like Tina very much. The fact was Richard could barely wait for this temporary partnership to be over.

Gavin had to come back soon. He _had_ to.

"So, you were saying the Captain wants to see us?" Tina brought up. Nines nodded.

"Yes," The android gestured towards the door to the man in question's office. "Since you're done with your portion of the reports on the witness' questioning, we should go ahead and see what the urgent matter is."

Tina stared at Richard for a brief second in a way that unsettled the android a bit. She really did look like she was holding herself back.

“Why are you like this?” Elijah looked like he had just been physically hurt, but Gavin was more than used to his brother’s over-dramatic personality.

“Mom and dad made me like this,” Gavin glanced up from the page he was reading on a thriller about some teenager sleepover party gone wrong - not his favorite type of reading, but it was the least sappy book Chloe had to offer. “Just like they made you like that.”

The ex-detective made sure to give his bother a meaningful look, as he sized his half-naked form up and down.

Gavin had been staying with his brother and his android wife for a few days now, and he had already gotten used to Elijah’s habit of walking around on just briefs, or a robe - a red, fuzzy-looking one.  
Elijah gestured to the tray of perfectly assembled fruit slices, cheese cuts and a tall glass of smoothie. “Can you please not make my precious wife’s efforts go to waste and just eat?”

Gavin didn’t reply. He just stared at his brother with a face he hoped would let him know he was the bane of his life.

“Please?” Elijah’s voice sounded quieter this time, and it took Gavin by surprise. He could barely remember when the last time the genius had used that big brother tone on him; it had certainly been several years.

Gavin sighed. He glanced down at the book on his hands, folded the tip of the page, and then closed the book with another deep sigh.

“Alright, Eli.” He placed the book on the table, right by the tray Chloe had brought out for him about an hour or so before. When he reached for the glass and took a big sip, Elijah decided to sit down across from him.

“How are you doing?” The question only came when Gavin had almost finished his whole drink and eaten most of the cheese cuts. Which he was grateful for since it instantly soured his mood and apetite.

“I’ve told you more than a thousand times, man. I’m fine.” Gavin couldn’t help the scowl on his face, and he hated it. He hated it because he knew Elijah could see through it better than anyone would ever be able to.

“Gavin,” Elijah’s voice was soft again. And Gavin hated that too. He wasn’t broken or anything, he didn’t need to be treated like he was. He was fine. _I’m __fine_.

But he wasn’t really. If he was, he wouldn’t have been glaring at the empty glass in front of him like he wanted to set it on fire.

“Gavin, look at me.” He didn’t. Not immediately anyway. Just out of spite. “Look at me!”

There was a beat of silence, Gavin resisted for another moment but ultimately turned to face his brother.

Elijah had that look on his face like when their dad gave Gavin that scar on his nose - a mix of sadness and anger, that Gavin sometimes wanted to label as pity, but knew it was far from that.

“I hate when you look at me like that,” he mumbled, in a tone, he was not proud of - like a petulant child. “I don’t need protecting anymore.”

“And I hate when you lie to me,” Elijah made sure to use a tone as close to Gavin’s as his genius neurons would allow him. “Besides, I’m older than you, protecting you is my birthright. That, and you know, I do what I want.”

Gavin huffed impatiently. “I’m not lying, Eli.”

“Really? Because as I recall, you’d force yourself to have at least four meals a day and would workout and shave regularly.” He frowned. “Now Chloe and I have been struggling to force you into eating at least twice a day for the past week and a half, _brat_. You’ve been acting like a zombie all day. You wake up, spend the whole day sitting out here staring at the same page of that book, then go back to bed only to repeat the same cycle all over again the following morning.”

“That’s not true-”

“And seriously, when was the last time you showered?”

“Rude,” Gavin snorted.

“It’s true though.” Elijah spat sounding annoyed. “Why can’t you just admit you’re not fine, so you can start working on getting over what happened?”

Gavin furrowed his brows. It was his turn to be annoyed.

“What do you expect me to do, Eli? Huh?” Gavin’s fists tightened on his knees. “Cry?”

“If you need to, then yes!”

“I’m not some teenage girl who needs to get over her first break-up, Elijah!”

“No, Gavin, you’re a human being with feelings!” They had both started yelling, without really noticing. “Why do you always have to be avoidant like this? Why do you _always_ have to hurt yourself like this; like it’s all your fault?”

“Because it is!”

Chloe happened to come out to check on both men just as the first tears started dripping down Gavin’s face. She heard the rising voice tones from the main living room where she had been reading another romance book she had just added to her collection - it was true she could just download the digital copies inside her ‘head’ as Gavin had put it, but collecting the physical copies were a hobby of hers, as was actually reading the stories like a human would.

She stood quietly by the door and watched the rest of the siblings’ exchange. Elijah didn’t waste any time in getting up from his seat and moving closer to Gavin’s shaking form. It always made her think so much more fondly of her husband when she saw how he cared for his little brother. _He will be a great father, despite his numerous faults_.

Elijah was correct though. Gavin’s stress levels had been stuck at a concerning 89% from day one. His eating and sleeping habits pointed to a severe depressive episode, and his smoking habits were so detrimental to his health she had planned to intervene sooner or later.

“I could have been a better partner, _Lijah_.” Gavin’s voice sounded weak and broken between sobs. “If I had been better he wouldn’t have felt the need to get involved with them. I know he wouldn’t have. I-I should have-”

“Gavin, listen to me,” Elijah never stopped patting the other man’s back. “You need to stop doing this to yourself. It’s not your fault. You’re not responsible for other people’s choices. What Richard did was egoistical, but it was his choice. And I know it hurt you, but you’re going to be ok.”

“I don’t know if I will, Elijah.”

“Well then,” Elijah started in a joking tone. “Should I deactivate him, then? I will kill him if you’d like me to-”

“What!? No! No, no-”

He laughed. “I’m kidding.” _Half-kidding, really_...

There were few things capable of setting Elijah Kamski off, all of which were directly related to his brother and wife’s safety. No one would ever know, or be able to prove, but some higher-ups at Cyberlife had been ruined for trying to harm Chloe before she even deviated; his dad was stuck in a mental hospital with no chance of getting out for hurting Gavin all those years ago.

Elijah made sure to keep a hand on his brother’s shoulder even after he started to calm down.

“You know, _brat_...” Elijah stared into the distance for a moment. “This might sound sudden, but how would you feel about visiting mom for a while? I have this work thing going on, and I would like for you to come with me and Chloe.”

Gavin rubbed his eyes roughly. “What do you mean?”

“I got a work proposition; a very good one, all things considered.” Elijah glanced down at his brother’s face. “I wasn’t so sure before, but now that I think about it, putting some distance between you and everything that’s happened recently might be a good thing. And I’ve been meaning to introduce Chloe to mom, anyway.”

Gavin remained silent, so Elijah pushed;

“What do you think?” He went as far as ruffling the other man’s already unruly, greasy hair. “The Military is implementing a program for deviant soldiers with PTSD. I can work something out with them. You could start a new career with me there; we both know you’re more than just a detective.”

Once again Gavin just stared at him in silence.

“Of course, it’s okay if you don’t want to.” Elijah smiled at him softly. “I’m not leaving you alone though-”

“_Phck_ it,” Gavin blurted out. “It’s not like I have anything holding me to this place anyway.

“I’ll make sure to reserve our flight tickets right away,” Chloe said from her spot by the huge glass doors, scaring both men who had not been aware of her presence until that exact moment.

_Haha, that's funny_. Hank thought with a glint of amusement in his eyes. But when Nines didn't show any signs it had all indeed been just a joke, the amusement quickly became horror. _No, no, wait_. _Not funny_. _Not funny at all_.

Connor was the one to break the silence though. "After all the disciplinary actions taken against Detective Reed, what could he have possibly done to get himself fired?"

“That’s ridiculous, kid,” Hank couldn't - he wouldn't be able to - wrap his head around the fact Gavin was gone.

Richard nodded softly. “I know, Lieutenant. And I told the Captain the same thing. Unfortunately, it appears everything was Gavin's own decision.”

Nines didn't really process the shocked reactions of his predecessor and his partner. There were so many notifications on his HUD about instabilities on his software he was starting to overheat.

Despite his clear distress, the android still managed to force himself to run all the possible scenarios in which his ex-partner would make the decision to quit his job.

It was weird. Nines found that the mere suggestion that Gavin might one day simply give up his badge by his own free will was ridiculous. Chances of that happening had always been below 0,7%.

It just didn't make sense.

"It just doesn't make sense," he ended up saying out loud.

Hank huffed in agreement.

"But in all honesty, if there was ever a thing Gavin was good at, other than being obnoxious and doing his job as a detective, it was being unpredictable."

No one could argue with that. But Richard wanted to. He didn't like this feeling... of not knowing; not being in control.

As he walked back to his desk, where his new official partner, Detective Chen, was waiting for him Richard heard the news about Elijah Kamski's decision of leaving the country to help on a new android rehab program for military units in Russia. It didn't pick that much of his interest though, so he tunned the reporter's voice out. Connor and Markus might be more curious about their Creator’s footsteps, Richard didn’t care.

"Are you ready for that new crime scene?" Tina asked when he was close enough.

Richard simply nodded. His mind was elsewhere.

He was going to have to find Gavin. There were a lot of things he needed to ask the man.


	3. A long way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six months went by in the blink of an eye and Gavin can barely believe all that's happened in such little time.  
He's moved back to Russia with his brother and sister-in-law; started a new job, and shockingly, was already about to receive his second promotion.
> 
> Sometimes he still finds himself thinking about cold blue eyes though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! An actual update! Can you believe it?  
And you didn't even die of old age after waiting ages this time!  
I guess miracles DO happen... #nervouslaugh
> 
> But seriously guys, thank you so much for sticking around and being so patient and supportive. I really appreciate you!

It finally stopped snowing after almost four hours, and what did Elijah decide to do? Drag Gavin's ass out from under the warmth of his covers and into the biting cold outside; on his first day off in two weeks nonetheless. _Typical_.

"I hate you" Gavin mumbled behind the scarf he had wrapped around his neck. There was no real bite to his voice despite his words and his brother simply snickered in a smug fashion.

They had to drive for a good forty minutes until they finally got to the cemetery.

Dark, heavy clouds hung above the city like a bad omen. The skies matched the headstones in a way that contributed to the somber atmosphere of the whole place. The smell of wet dirt and all sorts of crawling insects was not new to Gavin, but it wasn't something he was ever going to get used to.

"I hate this place" Gavin mumbled again.

"You hate a lot of things," Elijah said in his usual smug tone - like he knew some kind of great secret he was not willing to share. "Not me, nor mom, and _certainly_ not Borscht though."

Gavin huffed at that last statement. "Do you really wanna go there again? I'll punch you, Eli. Don't try me."

"You know you love stew, and you know you love borscht." Elijah rolled his eyes before nudging the other man affectionally. "Anyway, I'm glad you came with me today."

Gavin snorted. _Not like you gave me a choice_.

"I mean it," the ex CEO glanced briefly at him. "There's something I wanted to tell mom, and wanted you to be here too..."

Gavin's grumpy attitude quickly disappeared and he stared at his brother with slightly wide eyes. Elijah was serious, which meant this had to be a big deal. "_Lijah_...?"

Gavin's worried demeanor actually managed to get a hearty laugh out of his sibling.

"Relax! Did you notice you only call me _Lijah_ under pressure? You've been like that since we were kids, _brat_." Elijah slapped him lightly on the back of the head and Gavin glared at him. They didn't stop walking though, and Elijah just pointed at a polished black headstone just a few feet away. "Come on, we're almost there."

Once they reached the opulent piece of carved stone Gavin felt like the air around them stood still for a moment. It was weird how that always seemed to happen whenever they visited their mom. He tried to convince himself it was just the anger he had piled up over the years on how his dad had made that woman suffer until the day she died. But in all honesty, he knew it had more to do with his own trauma. Gavin knew he was going to be next had his brother not done something when he did. And that knowledge made his skin crawl; it made him anxious; it almost drove him into panic attacks.

"Hey _Ma_, I brought your favorites" Gavin set a small vase with deep purple violets in front of the stone. "They're not going to last long with this cold, but I know you like it better this way."

"You still remember what she used to say?" Elijah looked a bit surprised. "You were very little."

"Lijah, you're literally just a few months older, man," Gavin side-eyed his brother.

"Yeah, but you were born in freak conditions- _oof_-" he was cut short by a rough jab to his side. Gavin was glaring at him, but all Elijah could do was laugh. "You're such a little shit."

Both men exchanged some more snide insults that they didn't really mean it until they finally settled in comfortable silence. They stood quietly for a few minutes just staring at the headstone in front of them. Memories of their mother cooking, tucking them in and just working in her office from home. They had lost her at a young age but had managed to make enough memories together that she left a huge void space in their hearts when she passed.

"Ma," Elijah finally broke the silence. He sounded in peace, in a way that made Gavin see him in a different light. "I brought Gavin again this time, as I promised. Chloe couldn't come, but we both have something we wanted to share with you and Gavin."

Gavin waited for the big reveal in surprising silence. It didn't go unnoticed; Elijah appreciated it.

"Chloe and I have decided to add a new member to the family," Elijah reached inside the pocket of his long white wool coat and took out the picture of a girl playing with his wife. "We're adopting this little girl."

She couldn't be much older than four years old, and she had the brightest smile Gavin had ever seen. In the picture, she was doing some sort of messy hairdo on Chloe, and the android had looked so serene and happy. Gavin didn't remember ever seeing Chloe smiling like that - not even at Elijah.

"You sneaky bastard," Gavin snatched the photo from his brother's hand and took a better look at it. The girl had light brown hair and very dark, very shiny eyes that made her look like a doll when in contrast with her pale skin."So that's why you've been looking so stressed out the past few weeks! I thought I was imagining things when I caught you and Chloe talking secretively a few times."

Elijah scratched the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, we didn't mean to keep it a secret from you. But we didn't want to say anything in case it didn't work. Androids adopting human children is still a complicated subject, you know?"

Gavin glanced up from the picture and nodded at his brother before taking a last good look at his future niece. "I just want to let know now, so you don't get your panties in a twist later: I'm gonna be the favorite Kamski. I'm _so_ gonna be the cool uncle. You don't stand a chance, Lijah."

Elijah huffed and stared at Gavin looking less than impressed. "I don't care about being the best uncle. I'm going to be the best dad."

Elijah set the picture down by the vase with the already freezing flowers.

"I can't believe you guys managed to keep this from me," Gavin shook his head softly. "Especially you. No offense."

"None taken."

They stayed for a few more minutes but were soon on their way. Elijah was expected for a meeting regarding the development of what was to be the first android remedy ever created. They were still a few weeks away from being ready to test it on deviant volunteers, but the data available was looking great.

"I think this is going to be amazing," Elijah confessed during the drive back to Gavin's place. "If the vaccine works as I've designed it deviant androids won't have to worry about being infected with viruses that can tamper, corrupt, or erase their software. They will be a little safer, I guess."

"Safer is good, Eli. Doesn't matter if it's just a little." Gavin was well aware of how his brother was demanding of himself when it came to his work. That might have been a genetic thing since he wasn't any better - even if he liked to believe he was. "I know this is important, but make sure to eat and sleep properly. You're going to be a dad soon and you can't be an office zombie and a dad at the same time."

Elijah glanced at him for a brief second before looking at the road again with a laugh. "Funny having you, of all people, telling me this. How's your work going, by the way?"

Gavin grunted before replying, "Everything is perfect obviously. Who are you taking me for?"

That answer only served to make his brother laugh harder. "That's cool and all, but not what I meant."

"I'm meeting with Yerik tomorrow," Gavin rubbed his hands together as a few things came up in his mind that he still needed to do before talking to his boss. "Everyone just kept trying to wash their hands clean off this team they rescued, you know? It pissed me off so much that now I'm going to make sure they can't."

Elijah hummed in understanding. "And what's the plan?"

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Gavin smirked and glanced at his brother just as he parked in front of Gavin's apartment building. He had moved out of Chloe and Elijah's place just two weeks before; after both had been sure he was relatively better compared to when they were still in Detroit. He was eating, sleeping and washing regularly - still smoking too much in Chloe's opinion, but she knew that wouldn't go away immediately.

Elijah let out a soft sigh and shook his head. "Don't tease me, just spill it."

"I'm going to make the boss a proposition he won't be able to say no to," Gavin said with simplicity - after letting a moment of silence stretch between them, that is. _Okay, so maybe Elijah isn't the only Kamski fond of the dramatics_. "They're going to have no other option than to support these people until they're stable again. And that should send a big _phck_ you to those higher up assholes that think they can use people and discard them-!"

"Androids," Elijah corrected him, but it took a moment for Gavin to understand what he meant.

"_People_," Gavin snarled. "Just 'cause their plastic doesn't mean they're not people. They have feelings now and that makes them just like everybody else."

Elijah smirked at Gavin with a knowing look in his eyes.

"What?" Gavin spat in annoyance. "These guys were kept hostage for three whole months, Lijah! They were beaten up and traumatized when they brought them back; some of them couldn't even speak. It's not fair to just leave them on their own now after all they've done for the agency."

Elijah just nodded in silence.

"There are humans on the group too, you know?" Gavin said after a beat of silence. "A woman named Hana, and two guys. One of them is a 20-year-old kid named Minho. The boy doesn't even have any family! How long do you think he'd survive on the streets with all the shit he's probably been through clouding his judgment? He'll either end up in jail or dead in an alley."

Elijah's eyes widened for a moment. "Wait, humans? I thought- Gavin... That means..."

"What?" Gavin glanced at him with a still annoyed look on his face.

"Have you had access to the files of all members of the team?" Elijah tried to sound neutral, but his creased brows gave his nervousness away.

Gavin nodded once while eyeing him suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"What do you know about the team Captain?"

"Some military android named Oleg. There are warnings about his hostile behavior and at least eleven notes on personnel sent to the infirmary for trying to touch him without consent after he came back," Gavin didn't take his eyes off of Elijah. "And this is confidential information that I should not be telling you. So if you want to know more you're going to have to come in with me and read his file."

The car was turned off immediately at that last suggestion and Gavin huffed in amusement. "I guess you're having lunch with me then."

"If you don't mind," Elijah smiled at him guiltily.

The other simply shook his head and stepped out of the car.

Gavin was working chopping vegetables for a stir-fry and the rice was already cooking. Meanwhile, Elijah sat in the living room reading the file on the android who lead the team Gavin was supposed to work on. He couldn't help but worry about the impact that might have on his brother's emotional health seeing as it was supposed to be an RK model developed at the same time as Richard. There was no information on which model the android was, but Elijah had his suspicions.

One of the last projects he had access before being kicked out of Cyberlife was the RK900 and RK1000 series. Elijah had signed a contract with the Russian branch of the company to start the development and assembling of the RK1000 series at the same time as Cyberlife worked on the RK800 and RK900.

"Are you sure you don't want to drink anything, Eli?" Gavin asked as he tossed the cut vegetables into the wok.

"I'm sure," he replied, still with eyes glued to the papers. There were no pictures, no appearance description, no nothing other than the records of accomplishments and behavioral problems.

Elijah just wanted to make sure this android didn't look exactly like the ones back in Detroit. Gavin had just begun to act more like himself again, Elijah didn't want to see his brother going down the same path he had months before.

"Why are you so interested in this guy anyway?" Gavin spoke from right beside him and made Elijah jump in surprise.

"Jesus-! When did you even get here?" Elijah looked up at his brother with a hand placed on his chest. He took a deep breath before accepting the glass filled with some translucent beverage.

"That's not water," Gavin warned and sat down while siping his own. Elijah nodded in acknowledgment and set the glass down on the center table."Now tell me, what up with that worried face?"

But Elijah really didn't want to have to tell Gavin.

"I'm just curious," he tried to sound nonchalant. "Supposedly there has only ever been one mixed squad with humans and android working together as a team."

Gavin finished his glass in one big sip without taking his eyes off Elijah before saying; "Bullshit. Now tell me what's actually worrying you?"

To that, Elijah set the papers down. He grabbed his drink and sighed deeply. "I think this Oleg is an RK."

And Gavin's smug expression fell.

"W-what...?"

"I'm not completely sure!" He did his best to sound supportive in a way. Elijah felt guilty and horrible for dropping the bomb on Gavin like this, but he knew it was better he be prepared for the possibility of having a Richard lookalike around."I had access to information that there's really only one team with humans and deviant androids working together. They're supposed to infiltrate and neutralize or infiltrate and extract. Anyway, their Captain is supposed to be an RK1000. The only one of his series, like the RK900 is the only one of his."

Gavin just stared at his brother with slightly widened eyes. He didn't notice his hold on his glass had loosened until it slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor with a muffled thump. Luckily it fell on top of the fluffy carpet and rolled only once before stopping. Cat had been chilling on the single armchair in the room and decided to jump down and come closer to the glass to check what had been in it.

"Gavin?" Elijah tried after the silence became too much and it was almost like seeing an actual robot rebooting.

Gavin shook his head quickly and reached down to pick up the glass. He pushed Cat out of the way before she licked any more vodka - that animal was so weird, Gavin had noticed the moment he saw her at the shelter where he adopted her.

"Not for you," he told her and got up. He sent his brother a calm smile and just walked back to the kitchen. "Lunch is almost ready."

"Gavin-" Elijah tried but was interrupted.

"Lijah, I'm going to be fine, man." There was a loud hissing sound when Gavin poured some more soy sauce into the wok. "I promise you I will. I'm better now."

But even though he really wanted to believe his brother's words Elijah could see, by the shocked expression on his face when he learned about the other RK, that Gavin was not that much better.

He knew now about Gavin's plans for the team and was not looking forward to the next few months.

And, in a way, he knew Gavin felt the same now.

Gavin had barely slept that night after lunch with his brother. He felt anxious. Almost scared. But it wasn't of the android he had yet to meet, it was from the memories he knew would resurface at the sight of that face and... and those icy blue eyes.

Gavin already felt like his heart was hurting.

The day was going by fairly quickly, and Gavin was very grateful for that. Yerik, Secretary of National Security and his boss, had pushed their meeting to an earlier time and now they were close to being done.

"These are the best men you have, that's why you want them to receive the necessary support. They served, and something happened that made them dangerous to themselves. But they can also be a danger to society if you just drop them now. Besides, it's really simple: if you make sure these people are healthy and well-fed, you will still have the strongest, most reliable, best experienced and trustworthy squad, if not you'll have nothing."

"Так что вы предлагаете?" Yerik questioned with a raised brow.

"I read the reports on the condition of these men, they need help. Addressing their mental health should be your first priority. Once that's resolved they can simply go back to normal training as they were used to." Gavin rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. "They'll need to have a stable and quiet environment at first; a place where they can feel safe. It will make it easier to give them the help they need. But you'll need to make sure not to put them in a position where they feel like they're imprisoned all over again. You _really_ don't want that; that type of thing can be stressful and triggering."

Yerik was listening to him intently, Gavin could tell. That was a good sign. "Ты имеешь ввиду как в Академии?"

"No, I mean like a safe house. But you're going to need a big one where they can live together and be able to receive treatment there." Gavin shook his head and then finally pulled up the tablet he had been carrying with him. "I've taken the liberty of looking through the ones we have registered in the system," after fidgeting for a moment with the device he handed it over to the older man. "These are the ones with the most potential, but they'll need work one way or the other."

"Вы были чрезвычайно вовлечены в успех этого проекта, мистер Камски. Никто из моих бывших координаторов не занимался этим." Yerik glance at Gavin for a second before focusing his attention on the pictures and information displayed on the tablet.

"That's just because I know what the type of trauma these men went through can do. So I want to make sure they're properly cared for because abandonment will just push them over the edge at this point." Gavin did really good at not letting the bitterness he felt over the fact some other assholed had been doing their best to simply not have to invest on the recovery of these people. "I don't want that to happen, sir. After all, it would ruin all the work my brother and I had to put on building the image people have of this agency."

"В тебе что-то есть, Камскис. Вы оба очень увлечены..." the man clicks on a picture of a big mansion-like building surrounded by grass fields. You can see mountains not so far behind the house. "А насколько ты уверен? Что у тебя все получится."

"I'm not certain of anything other than the fact I'll try my hardest to help these people get better." Gavin crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a sigh. "I'm not going to be cynical, and try to bullshit you into thinking I'm just doing this from the kindness of my heart. I'm not. I just think they served this country, and now you all should show some gratitude and make sure they can walk out of this at least a little bit sane. It's also a Kamski thing, we like to see the shit we start through."

The man stared up from the screen in his hand and let out a soft chuckle. "Приятно слышать. Потому что я возлагаю на тебя ответственность за это."

"I'm sorry, what?" Gavin stared at the man with wide eyes.

"Вы должны следить за их лечением, следить за тем, чтобы о них хорошо заботились, и каждые несколько недель сообщать мне о том, как развивается их состояние. Я дам вам шесть месяцев, чтобы показать мне значительные результаты" Yerik had somewhat of a fond, proud look on his face as he handed back the tablet to Gavin. "Я предоставлю вам доступ к этому безопасному дому. Вы можете изменить его так, как считаете нужным для успеха программы."

Gavin didn't say anything immediately, so the man continued.

"Мне понадобится полная оценка стоимости всех изменений в этом убежище и ежемесячных общих расходов с программой." He said and started walking away. "Я позвоню, чтобы подготовить документы для вашего продвижения. Вы должны прийти в офис и подписать их всех, как только сможете. Вы будете очень заняты в течение следующих нескольких месяцев, мистер Камски."

All Gavin could do was stand there dumbfounded as he stared after his boss.

A few steps away, Yerik stopped for a moment and glanced over his should at Gavin. "И последнее замечание: у команды, с которой вы собираетесь работать, замечательная история, но ее положение должно быть максимально конфиденциальным. Средства массовой информации будут использовать любую информацию, которую они получают, поэтому убедитесь, что приняты надлежащие меры безопасности, чтобы избежать разоблачения этих людей."

"Yes, sir" Gavin replied slowly with a nod. The words were still sinking in very slowly though.

Once the Secretary had disappeared down the hall Gavin finally found the cognitive capacity to reach inside his pocket for his phone.

To 'Only 4 Months Older': I'm fucked.

Not even one minute later his phone vibrated with a reply,

From 'Only 4 Months Older': Ok... I'm concerned.

From 'Only 4 Months Older': What did you do?

Gavin never typed so fast in his life;

To 'Only 4 Months Older': Ijustgotpromotedagain!

This time the reply took a bit longer, but it came;

From 'Only 4 Months Older': Again? That's the second one in six months, brat.

From 'Only 4 Months Older': Congratulations by the way.

To 'Only 4 Months Older': Lijah, Imma have to work with these guys directly!

From 'Only 4 Months Older': oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the English version of what Gavin's boss was saying:
> 
> "So what do you suggest?"
> 
> "You mean like at the Academy?"  
"You seem extremely invested in the success of this project, Mr. Kamski. None of my former coordinators went this far."
> 
> "Ah, yes, there's something about you Kamskis. You're very driven..." "And how certain are you? That you will succeed that is."
> 
> "That's good to hear. Because I putting you in charge of this."
> 
> "You are to oversee their treatment, make sure they're well-cared for, and report to me every few weeks on how their condition develops. I will give you twelve months to show me significant results." "I'll grant you access to this safe house. You can reform it in any way you see fit for the success of the program."
> 
> "I'll need a full estimate of the cost of all changes in that safe house and of monthly general expenses with the program." "I'll call in for the papers for your promotion to be prepared. You should come to the office and sign them all up as soon as you are able. You're going to be quite busy for the next few months, Mr. Kamski."
> 
> "On one last note, the team you're going to be working with has a remarkable history, but their situation should be kept as confidential as possible. The media will use any information they get their hands on, so make sure proper safety measures are put in place to avoid exposing these people."
> 
> Just so we're clear, Gavin was speaking in Russian too. I just thought it would be such a pain to read a whole bunch of stuff you don't understand (like myself, for example) and then have to scroll down all the way to here to try to get what was up. So I mixed it in a way you get the context, but it still leaves somewhat of a surprise.  
Also, I know close to zero Russian, everything here was written with google translator with the exception of when Elijah call Gavin brat, which means brother. #nervouslaugh2.0


	4. Revelations and Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While a regretful Richard and very concerned Connor and Hank make a disturbing discovery on their search for the missing ex-detective, Gavin finds himself confused and in denial. Wondering how his sweet niece became such a little shit, why people have to be insensitive jerks, and why CyberLife and its branches felt such a need to built tactical androids that look like underwear supermodels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
I'll address Oleg's team as IRES (Infiltration, Recognition & Extraction Squad).  
Just letting you know so you don't get confused.
> 
> ALSO, @Yeet+yote AND @Quilty_kelloggs have incredible deduction abilities!

The sky was a dark shade of gray despite the fact the sun should be at its peak. They had stopped their search for the sake of getting Hank a proper meal before continuing for the day but Richard chose to wait outside of the restaurant since he was still having a hard time dealing with his new discovered anxiety.

The past few months had passed very slowly for him - in reality, it had passed at a normal rate since time did not speed or slow down in any way. The shock of Gavin Reed suddenly resigning from work had been more intense than he had allowed himself to admit out loud but Connor soon found out during an interface. And the confusion that overloaded his systems - and actually managed to force him to shut down - once they had visited his ex-partner's apartment only to find it vacant; empty of all things except for the furniture, was still fresh in his memory.

It took Richard a few days to fully comprehend the fact Gavin had decided to leave, and without saying a word to anyone that knew him too. He had gone over six-hundred pre-constructions of the situation. Trying to understand the meaning of such actions, trying to get a clue as to the motive behind such harsh decision. None of the results achieved led to conclusive answers. He only ended up more uncertain and with more questions.

All the stress from worrying over _what_ was helpful though. It led to the _why_.

At some point, when he finally understood the implications of his words and actions, he was able to see the bigger picture - as Hank had named it.

Why did Gavin overdose? Why didn't he say something? Why did he look so hurt the last time they spoke? Why did he leave? And beyond all that, _where_ did he go?

In the beginning, Connor had as much of a hard time understanding the man's behavior as Richard. But Hank had been patient. They went over the events that preceded Gavin's vanishing - yes, _vanishing_ because he had disappeared leaving no trace behind. Only one neighbor saw him moving boxes out of the apartment, and the landlord had received the last payment and keys on an envelope the same day. Gavin's digital signature was gone. He had not used his passport, driver's license, nor credit cards. All clear signs that he either did not wish to be found or had been murdered.

Richard hoped the reason to be the former. He wasn't sure what his reaction would be like if he was to find Gavin was in fact dead. After all, if shutting down once he discovered the man was gone was anything to go by, he suspected he too would not survive such revelation.

"Are you alright?" Connor's voice reached his hearing processors and snapped him out of his thoughts. Richard turned his face to look at him.

"Yes," Richard glanced at Hank, who was standing right by Connor and holding his hand. "Shall we resume our search?"

"Are you sure?" Hank was looking at him with that concerned expression that had made Richard start caring about him in the first place. "That you're alright is what I mean."

Richard chose to simply nod in response this time.

"Ok," Hank said after a few seconds of awkward silence. He fished the car keys out of his pocket and gestured to where they had parked the car. "Let's go."

"The chances of us finding some clue on Gavin's whereabouts this time are pretty good," Connor informed Hank after a while of being back in the vehicle. They had driven a long way from the city, and were close to a secluded area, where only a few mansions and the occasional little cabin in the woods could be found. "Richard and I have finally managed to triangulate the last recorded location of Reed's personal phone."

"He's gonna have some explaining to do once we find him," Hank mumbled following the directions provided by Connor and Richard. "What did he come to this place for anyway? There's literally just a whole bunch of nothing here."

"I was taking note of that exact fact," Richard said from his spot in the back seat. "Most residencies around this area are owned by widely known individuals and every single one of the ones we've passed has been vacant since the Revolution."

"Weird," Hank huffed but kept going. "I hope that idiot didn't get in trouble with someone from here. From our experience with eccentric rich people, they can be real assholes."

"Formulate," Richard stared intently at Hank through the rearview mirror.

"He's talking about the time we had to visit Elijah Kamski," Connor spoke and placed a hand on Hank's knee in what was likely a reassuring manner. "Hank did not enjoy it."

"Neither did you if I remember correctly," Hank sounded almost petulant. Connor made a sound similar to a sigh as a form of acknowledgment of his lover's comment.

"What?" Hank glanced at Connor from the corner of his eye. "It's true-"

"We're here," Richard pointed out, just as they approached what seemed to be a very long, private driveway. Successfully interrupting Hank.

The Lieutenant slowed down and found a safe spot to park their car. Richard was jumping out before he even fully stopped the vehicle, Connor was quick to follow after him. And as much as Hank wanted to complain about safety facts, he knew better than to try to slow the two down on their search. He knew better than anyone how shaken they had been with the realization Gavin had disappeared, and also that they might all be responsible for it.

To be completely honest Hank had denied his own guilt to himself for the first four months very intensely. He ended up having arguments with Connor over it. Then he caused arguments between Connor and Richard over it. Then he somehow caught Richard and Chen in the middle of an argument over it. And after that, he just couldn't feign ignorance anymore.

"So, what are we looking for?" Hank asked as he approached the two androids with his hand in his pockets. Connor was standing tense by Richard, who was down on one knee picking on something that looked like a plastic bag half-covered in dirt and leaves. "What's that?"

Richard handed a dirty phone to Connor over his shoulder before continuing to pick things out of the bag. Hank caught a glimpse of what looked like a file and some documents but decided to wait until the two androids were ready to share information. Experience had taught him not to rush these things.

"This is Reed's phone," Connor showed Hank the phone's screen - that was partially covered in mud and dirt. "All information is still intact."

Richard rose back to his feet with the file and documents in his hands. He handed the small pile of documents to Hank before opening the file.

"Reed's passport, driver's license, gym pass, SSN card..." Hank looked up from the documents and glanced at Connor. "How far could he have gone without these?"

"Without the gym pass, hard to say," Connor's shoulders moved in a half-shrug. "Without the other ones, not very far. Not with how advanced tracking and face recognition are now at least."

"Not if he had a different identity," Richard's voice broke in static as he said that. His eyes were glued to whatever was written on the file he was holding, and if the small glitches on his facial expression meant anything Connor and Hank could tell it wasn't anything good.

"What's that?" Hank chanced the question after a few silent moments.

Richard's eyes moved up from the file to his face before he slowly handed the folder over. "Gavin was in a witness protection program."

Connor's eyes widened at that. After he decided to get rid of his LED those little changes on his facial expression were the only chances at trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Shit..." Hank frowned as he went over the document. "That explains a few things."

Hank still remembered how people used to talk shit behind Gavin's back when he had recently transferred to the DCPD. His info on their database said he was just fresh from the academy then and it didn't sit well with people that he got a major rank and detective badge just like that. Of course, he had been really good at work from the beginning, which was surprising and suspicious at the same time. But back then Hank didn't really have a mind to care about those facts.

"So, you guys think he might have changed his name back?" Hank questioned after finishing with the file. There was barely any understandable information there. All Hank had been able to get was that Gavin Reed was the name given to the man they were after and that the whole thing had happened because of some big issue with Russians - mean bastards, Hank had never had good experiences with them. "That seems like it would be too dangerous though."

"It's our best bet at the moment," Connor said after a while in silence.

"We have no information on what Gavin's real name is and no way of getting that information at the moment it seems," Richard's voice was breaking again. "It has come to my attention that even the information we did have on Detective Gavin Reed has been erased from all national databases."

Hank noticed Connor's eyes get glazed in that weird way that was typical when he was accessing some online information or writing reports inside his head.

"That is odd," Connor glanced at Richard and then Hank. "We should head back. Maybe they have physical documentation on Gavin's case."

"Perhaps," was all Richard said before making his way back to the car. He entered the vehicle, buckled up and immediately went into stasis in an attempt to try and stop the overheating caused by the huge amount of instabilities on his software.

"You think he's going to be ok?" Hank asked Connor while both stared after the taller android. "He's taken this whole thing pretty badly."

"It's been hard on all of us. We were unable to identify the situation with Gavin before it was too late and that's cost Richard a lot."

Elijah smiled widely and placed the pictures back down. "I love what you did with the place. It does have a more, as you say it, _homey_ feeling about it now."

Gavin smiled smugly at the comment and then proceeded to pull one of the wooden tiles out from the bottom half of the tower "I know. I have an amazing taste."

It made his brother snort, but before he said anything a quiet voice spoke from across the coffee table;

"That's not true." It caught the attention of both men and they turned toward the little girl. She was looking intently at the wooden tile she was trying to pull out from the tower. "Uncle Gavin, you dress like a delinquent college student."

Gavin's mouth hung open for a second. Meanwhile, Elijah sounded like he was having a great time laughing his head off.

"That's my baby girl," the Elijah said after finally managing to settle down. He eyed the little girl with so much pride in his eyes, Gavin couldn't even bring himself to spit a retort.

Dalila simply flipped her silky brown curls over her shoulder and stared at her father with an indignant expression though, and that made Gavin huff in amusement. "I'm not a baby anymore. Mom said so."

"I see," Gavin still had his hand on his chest and made a face as if he had just been physically hurt. "After all the vegetables I helped you get rid of at dinner, this is how you treat me. I'm hurt, _Lila_."

The girls' disinterested expression morphed into something similar to panic for a second and she snapped her attention to her uncle with wide eyes.

"I still love you though!" She sounded almost afraid, and that fact alone was enough incentive for Gavin to keep up his act.

"More than you love your old man?" Gavin only saw Elijah through the corner of his eye, but he didn't miss how Elijah sat up straighter at that question.

Dalila curled her fingers together in a nervous manner. She glanced at Elijah over Gavin's shoulder and then back at her uncle. It was extremely rare for her to let her emotions show on her face like this - probably a result of the years she spent in the adoption system.

"I love you both the same," she said after fidgeting for a bit more. "I love mom the most though, sorry."

And now it was Gavin's turn to laugh. Elijah pouted for a second before hitting his brother in the back of the head with the folder on the safe house project.

"It's okay to love Chloe the most, honey," Elijah said to her and smiled in a comforting manner. "Your uncle and I also preferred our mom over our dad. It's not uncommon."

"He's not wrong," Gavin confirmed with a big smile and then proceeded to try and get another tile. He ended up making the whole tower collapse though. "Huh, I guess you win. Again."

Dalila beamed at him with two missing teeth and closed eyes, and Gavin couldn't help but reach over the table and press a kiss to her head.

"Can you go tell your favorite parent that uncle Gavin is about to go?" He bopped her on the nose and she nodded before rushing down through one of the large corridors of the house.

Gavin started working on getting the wooden tiles together and into their box as soon as the little girl turned around, while Elijah worked on getting the pictures and files on his work project back into the folder.

"Now that Lila is not here," Elijah started in what Gavin recognized as his cautious tone. "I've been meaning to ask: are you really okay with living in seclusion with these people for a whole year?"

"Yeah," Gavin replied with a hum.

"Brat, I'm serious," Elijah placed a hand on one of his brother's shoulders and gave it a small squeeze. "You know it will be almost impossible for us to see each other. And once you're there, with all these security measures you guys put in place? We'll be lucky if you manage to contact us once a month."

Gavin quietly placed the lid on the tile box before sitting back down on the floor and pressing his back on the couch. Elijah was laying down right behind him.

"I'm gonna be ok, Eli." He gave his brother a quick glance. "The worst of our concerns was that RK model anyway. And while he might be kind of an asshole like all the others, at least he's not another copy and paste version of Connor. I can deal with him. Besides, the entire IRES unit is still pretty banged up. They really need help, and I _want_ to help them."

Elijah sighed deeply. "While I can respect your altruism towards these people, I still can't help but worry about your mental health."

Gavin was about to argue, but Elijah didn't give him a chance; "I know you can't be stopped once you've made up your mind, Gavin. But as your older brother, it's my job to nag."

That got the other man to let out a dramatic groan, "Lijah, for the billionth time, you're just four months older than me!"

"Still older," he rebutted smugly before sitting up and offering the reassembled folder to Gavin over his shoulder. "You did an amazing job with this project. I know you're gonna make it work."

"Hopefully in less than twelve months," Gavin mumbled accepting the folder. "We're leaving this weekend, you know? That's why I came to visit you guys today. I wanted to give Lila and Chloe a hug and remind you of how much I hate you-"

"You absolutely love me." Elijah cut him off with a straight face. "And there's just no way you're leaving this house just like that. Let's go out to eat together."

Just as if on cue Chloe and Dalila walked into the room.

"We're eating out?" Dalila asked excitedly.

"That's a great idea," Chloe smiled at Elijah. "I can make reservations. What's the occasion?"

Elijah got to his feet and walked over to where Chloe and Dalila were standing. He patted the little girl on the head once and then placed a small kiss on his wife's cheek before smiling at her adoringly.

"Remember that project Gavin was working on?" Chloe nodded once. "They just finished the restructuring of the safe house they'll be using, so Gavin is moving in with the IRES team this weekend."

Chloe's eyes widened for a brief second as she understood the implications of that information.

"Oh," she turned to Gavin looking a bit concerned, but still smiled at him. "You better call us whenever you have time. If you make me worry again I'll make you pay."

Gavin chuckled nervously.

Dalila could only stare between the three grown-ups curiously since she didn't understand what they were talking about.

The weekend rolled in quicker than Gavin felt ready for it. But plans were already in place and he had a schedule to follow until every member of the IRES was settled at the new base.

All personal items from each one of the members of the team had already been shipped to their new living quarters during the early hours of the morning. Gavin had assigned the three female members of the IRES to his assistant, Anya. She was going to brief them as a group and accompany them to the aircraft that would take them to the safe house. That left Gavin to brief the four remaining members of the team and to accompany them to the same aircraft. And it would have all been great and peaceful if the security team responsible for watching over the IRES captain hadn't messed things up.

Gavin already knew something was wrong the moment he arrived at the meeting room assigned for debriefing to find only three men there. They all looked pretty upset, and one even had their LED spinning rapidly on red as they stared in the general direction of Oleg's quarters.

Gavin really didn't want to ask, he knew he wouldn't like the answer. He did so anyway;

"Where's he?" there was no need to mention a name or title.

"They're keeping him in his room," Sonya, the only other male android apart from Oleg replied. He was built for quick pursuit and stealth, so he wasn't very tall or built. His skin had a golden-olive hue to it and he had light brown hair. "I was walking by, and I saw when one of the guards threatened Cap with a gun. He broke the guy's arms..."

Gavin let out a deep sigh at that final piece of information and placed a pile of folders on the table in the center of the room. "Of course he did."

"They started it though!" Sonya defended with an indignant look in his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, because people are stupid," Gavin offered one folder to each of the soldiers in the room before making his way to the door again. He noticed how the smaller human soldier, Minho was hunched in a further corner of the room but didn't comment on it. "I'll go get Oleg and make sure those assholes _phck_ off. You guys, please wait for me here."

Sonya and the other soldiers nodded silently. But Gavin didn't see it as he rushed down the corridor as fast as he could without running.

He didn't have to look for the commotion at all. There were at least twenty guards standing outside of Oleg's room with stun guns ready for use. Two men were being looked at by people from the medical team, and Gavin immediately spotted the unlucky bastard that had both arms broken - both were bent in weird angles. The other wounded guard had blood gushing from a badly broken nose.

Gavin stopped for a second and assessed the scene in front of him before walking into the room. The trail of blood from the room to where the bleeding guard was squirming and moaning in pain reminded Gavin of the first time he actually met the IRES captain. Five guards and two technicians were put in the medical wing for two weeks after.

So, yeah, Oleg really did live up to the records on his file. He was the most intimidating being Gavin had ever come into contact with yet - which was saying a lot after Fowler, and Nines, and his own father. The piercing glare that didn't seem to leave the android's face wasn't new. Gavin had dealt with that type of look before, the type that promised to crush him like an insect if he as much as breathed funny. It was easy to act as if it didn't bother him.

People had thought he was completely out of his mind when he told every guard and tech person to exit the area after the android had just assaulted seven people. _For no apparent reason_, they had declared. As if Gavin would believe that.

The thing was, Gavin was always more of a cat guy. He knew how to deal with them, and it was easy for him to pick up on what was going on with them. In fact, Gavin was especially good with weird cats - Cat was living proof of it. And after a mere two hours alone with the big, brooding killing machine that Oleg was, Gavin came to the conclusion the guy was nothing if not a big, deadly, but wounded cat. And well, all he had to do was respect the guy's needs and let him warm up to him in his own time.

To everyone's surprise, Gavin walked out without a scratch that day. And if the number of people that were gonna be sent to the medical wing this time was anything to go by, he would say they were already making significant progress with the android's self-control and temper.

"D-Don't move!" The voice didn't sound so sure, but it was enough to snap Gavin out of his thoughts. His eyes wandered back to the entrance of the room, following the trail of blood. He decided to move closer. "I'm warning you!"

"Если ты подойдешь ближе, я причиню тебе боль" the RK1000 had a very unique voice, it was hard not to recognize it. It was sharp, smooth and quiet. Like a knife. It sounded even more menacing with threats like that.

Gavin chose that moment to step into the room, and he noticed the guards visibly becoming more tense with his presence.

"I guess I could ask what's going on, but by that reaction, I'm assuming you dipshits are aware you phcked up." Gavin clucked his tongue and crossed his arms. "We have places to be, you know? You, idiots, are holding us back."

"H-He assaulted two of our men!" The guy, closer to where Oleg was standing, blurted and glanced at Gavin nervously.

"They pulled their guns on him first," Gavin reasoned. He hoped to sound as bored as he was. This bullying going on with the IRES captain was getting old fast. "And while he's not cleared to bear or handle guns right now, Oleg still has every right to defend himself. Now stand the phck down and get the hell out of here. As I said, you're holding us back."

The man glared at Gavin for a moment, narrowed his eyes, then finally lowered his gun. The remaining guards inside and outside of the room did the same.

It took a few more moments, but they all cleared out of the place pretty quickly. Gavin stood in the middle of the room staring at the door until every last guard had stepped out, then went to check if they had moved out of the corridor too - which they had.

When he turned back towards where the IRES captain was he found that the android had not moved one inch. And he was staring at him pretty intently.

"I _know, _I know" Gavin's voice sounded softer now, Oleg noticed. That aggravated edge from before wasn't there anymore. And the human was looking him in the eyes too; _facing_ him directly without fear. Without judgment. That made Oleg think maybe he did know. "You're not ready to deal with this type of shit yet. That's ok."

Oleg also noticed he wasn't demanding anything; he was not ordering him around. This_ Gavin Kamski_, he thought to himself while downloading every bit of information available on said man to be studied later; after the whole moving situation was taken care of. _He's different than the other humans here._

They didn't talk for a while - like on the first time they met. Gavin simply stared at him and he just stared back. It was almost as if they were both assessing the level of threat the other represented. Oleg thought it was fascinating how differently that man reacted to his analyzing stare. It usually made most people tense up, but Gavin seemed curious if anything.

"_So_, you ready to go, or what?" Gavin's voice interrupted the android's thoughts, but he was quick to answer.

"I have been ready," he answered in English this time, and Gavin had to concentrate on not humming in appreciation at how _nice_ the android's voice sounded just then.

"Great!" Gavin clapped his hands once and then gestured to the sliding doors, " It's almost time for our flight anyway. Let's get the hell out of here. _Now_."

A few guards and doctors and technicians they met on their way to the briefing room all looked at the duo weirdly.

"We're going to meet some of your teammates for a moment and I'll explain what's going to happen now that you're all leaving this horrible place. After that we're flying to our new home; there's a lot of space there, you'll love it." Gavin walked ahead as he spoke. It gave Oleg a good opportunity to scan the man for any extra information that might be useful.

He found out a few interesting facts: despite his height, the man had an outstanding physique and health; he was registered as a regular blood donor; he should smoke less though; there were interesting scars and tattoos scattered over his skin in different places.

Oleg wanted to ask but he didn't. It still felt too soon.

"Hey," the android's attention snapped towards the guy's intense stare. Gavin was standing a few feet ahead and was looking back at him with a questioning gaze. "You alright?"

Oleg caught a small software instability notification pop up on the corner of his HUD at the question. No one cared to ask him that after he and his team were brought back from the field.

He didn't know that man at all, so it shouldn't have meant so much. But it still did.

"I will be," he replied curtly.

It was a good enough response for Gavin, he liked the determined look behind those white strands of hair. But for Oleg it was a promise; to his team and to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler. Things will start really heating up in the next chapter.  
Hopefully, this chapter answered a few questions, but I'm sure it sparked a bunch of new ones too - I guess that's what I do.  
But if you want a heads up: Gavin's past, family history, trauma origin will be addressed in parts; the IRES hostage experience will also be explained soon; and Detroit - despite the distance - will still impact our favorite detective's life.
> 
> Also, here's what Oleg said to the guard: "If you step any closer I'll hurt you."


	5. Why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin Kamski is like a box of chocolates.  
You love it some. You hate it some.
> 
> A.K.A.: Anya and the IRES captain have mixed feelings about Gavin's weirdness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \violently struggling to write or function like a proper human being due to damaged brain cells because of this quarantine
> 
> I just want a Caffé Mocha from Starbucks! Is that so much to ask!? \sobs

Anya was staring at Gavin from the doorway with one of her perfectly symmetrical eyebrows raised in what looked like wonder and mild irritation. She had been standing there for almost five minutes, but the man was so immersed in his reading of the reports about the IRES that he never noticed her presence.

She took a deep breath while checking the time and then stepped further into the office.

“Mr. Kamski,” her voice carried a sharp tone that snapped Gavin out of his work like a slap. She watched him quickly reach for his hip and inhale sharply before looking up from the huge mess of papers on the desk. “It is past the time for our break.”

“Crap,” he narrowed his eyes at her for a brief moment, but his expression softened just a second later. The hand that reached for a service gun that was no longer carried there slowly slid up to his chest with a sigh. “You need to stop sneaking up on me like that, Ann.”

“I have been standing here for the past 5 minutes and 37 seconds,” Anya’s LED flashed yellow for a moment. “That does not qualify as sneaking up, sir. If anything I’ve been waiting on you.”

Gavin snorted at that last statement. “I told you not to wait for me. I have a lot of stuff to go through, so I’ll just take a break later.”

Anya ignored him completely as she walked further into the office. She went around the messy desk and stopped by his side to have a better look at the files he had been reading. She then proceeded to gather all papers in a neat pile so quickly Gavin had no chance to stop her.

“Ann!” He glared up at her before trying to reach for the files. The android slapped his hand away in silence. “I need to finish studying those. You know Oleg and Minho are having a hard time with their program-”

“It is time for our break,” she said in a cutting tone and hauled him to his feet by his elbow. Damn androids and their super strength!

Gavin turned to face her with a scowl, but her cold expression was intimidating in such a motherly way that Gavin just didn’t have the audacity to argue any further.

He let out a long breath in resignation and reached out to pick up his tablet so that - maybe - he could continue with some of his work during their break.

Anya snatched the device out of his hand as soon as he had it in his grasp though, and when he looked at her again ready to snap, she just narrowed her eyes at him challengingly.

When it became clear she had won the dispute, the slim android’s stern expression melted and she smiled warmly. “Now, if you would be kind enough to follow me. I called and ordered your meal ahead.”

“Whatever,” Gavin mumbled like a scolded child. Accompanying his assistant at a dragging speed.

Gavin sulked for just a few minutes for being babied. He was well aware of his unhealthy habit of losing himself into his work. Of course, as a former detective, being aware of the things going on around him was kind of a natural instinct. And it didn’t take him long to realize his assistant had been hovering over him on his family’s behalf. Specifically under Chloe’s orders.

He figured it made sense that Anya and his sister-in-law had become such close friends that they could even trust each other to take care of people dear to them. They were similar in many ways after all.

Gavin noticed as soon as his work on the rehab of the IRES started that Anya was going to be more than just his assistant. And his suspicion that he was under surveillance was confirmed during his first call with his brother. He only had to ask a few, ambiguous questions in order to identify what Chloe and Elijah had been doing in exchange for Anya to babysit him. As it was, Anya used to also be a military android, assigned to an older and now disabled human handler that she considered her own family.

Gavin’s plans of asking for a new assistant were forgotten as soon as he learned she had accepted to stay away for such a long period of time in order to get better pay. All so that she could afford some sort of cornea surgery that might or might not bring her _father’s_ sight back.

“It is rude to stare, Mr. Kamski,” her sharp scolding tone was long gone, and her voice sounded so soft and caring he couldn’t believe how scary she could look when she wanted. _Oh, well, androids_.

“Seriously,” Gavin blurted out. “I’m so done.”

“Pardon?” She eyed him curiously as they walked side by side through the entrance to the dining room. Gavin shook his head.

“It’s nothing,” he pulled a chair and gestured for her to sit. “Just thinking out loud.”

When both of them were seated Gavin immediately felt awkward. He looked around the room. Taking in the modern style of the entire room and decoration. He kind of had good taste-

“Oleg’s performance on his rehabilitation process, despite clearly slower than that of most of his peers, is going quite well.” Anya’s voice snapped the ex-detective back to attention once again. “You should not take this small setback so seriously, Mr. Kamski. The same goes for Mr. Yoon’s performance.”

Gavin looked at her for a moment without saying anything. It took him a few instants to remember she had seen the files on his desk earlier and probably read all of it in her head.

“It’s not their performance that worries me,” he finally said after a while of just looking through her. “It’s our approach.”

Anya’s eyes widened in a display of mild surprise. “Oh?”

Gavin huffed and leaned back on his chair. “I’m sure the big guy will come out of this in pretty good shape. He’s pretty distrustful still, but he clearly has an objective. That is enough reason for me to comfortably bet he’ll get over all this.”

When Gavin’s shoulders tensed and he paused for a long time without adding anything more, Anya was quick to catch on to what was bothering him.

“You’re worried about Mr. Yoon,” she said. Her voice suggested she was once again surprised. “His performance has been basically the same as that of his captain, though...”

“He’s human,” Gavin pointed out. His tone almost suggested the answer was enough to validate his concern. But Anya didn’t understand. And the possibility the man might be suggesting that androids’ feelings and trauma were less valid than that of humans angered her.

“Might I remind you that androids have an equally hard time dealing with their emotions as any human-”

“I’ve no doubt about that, Ann” he cut her off quick. “I’ve seen it first hand. Believe me.”

Memories of Connor’s first signs of deviancy, and his struggle were still pretty fresh in his mind. And as much as it teared at him, so were the ones of Richard. He was more than familiar with how hard it could be for an android to navigate their feelings. But he also knew they had an advantage:

“Androids have an easier time rationalizing things. You can access all memories you have and see things clearly. Humans can’t do that.” Gavin pressed his hands together on his lap. “You’ve seen his files, you know what they did to him. Whenever we press him to get over what he’s been through we force him to relive all that shit. He can’t recall things the way androids do, so I know for a fact his emotions have been manipulating how he remembers what happened.”

Anya’s eyes softened again. “I guess...you might be correct on that.”

Gavin didn’t say anything after that, and neither did she. In a couple more minutes their food was brought out to them and they ate in silence.

While Gavin seemed to be thinking hard about something that clearly upset him, Anya could only steal a few glances at the man. It was true what Chloe had told her about his aggravating personality at times and lack of self-preservation instincts. But it seemed his ability to be kind and aware of those around him was also true.

As his main assistant, she had seen the man be rude, intimidating, disdainful, and sometimes even hatefully petty with the team working with them on that program. Yet he had showed an equally surprising number of positive interactions with the same people. He could be thoughtful and encouraging. Mostly when he had had a good night of sleep.

“So,” Anya started when they were almost done eating. Her thirium based soup was mostly gone. “What are your plans to help these two?”

Gavin stopped mindlessly stabbing his half-eaten steak to look at her. “What do you mean?”

The android merely gave him an unimpressed look. She knew he was well aware of what she meant.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Gavin let out a sigh.

“I don’t know yet.” He set his fork and knife down and stared into nothing for a second. “It’s been two months, but they don’t really trust me. Not yet anyway. It’s going to be hard to help them if they continue to push me away. But I can’t push them either.”

Anya kept a watchful gaze on the grumpy man. He legitimately looked torn by the whole situation - which was amusing and curious at the same time.

“They need to do this at their own time-”

“Why do you care about what happens to these people so much, Mr. Kamski?” Her question stopped him mid-sentence and made Gavin turn to face her again.

“Don’t you?” He questioned back with a frown.

“It is not polite to answer a question with another,” Anya narrowed her eyes a little, but there was no bite to her voice. “Please, tell me your reason.”

Gavin snarled at his plate before glaring up at his assistant. There was a new type of rage in his eyes that made Anya uncomfortable. Yet it was clear that was not directed at her at all.

“Because it’s not _phcking_ fair, Ann!” Gavin slammed his hand on the table and got to his feet. “It’s not fair that after all the shit these guys were put through while on duty, they’re about to just be tossed aside like garbage. And all because of some assholes who have not even fired a gun, too. It’s not fair they’re treated like a liability when what they actually need is support. And it’s really not fair that you, as an android and former soldier, gets to sit there and ask me that question as if the work we’re doing here is something pointless.”

Anya couldn’t do anything other than stare at him openly and speechlessly. She didn’t have an immediate response to that. And she clearly didn’t have the processing power necessary to reach out and hold the man back when he stomped out of the room and back down the hall that led to his office.

It wasn’t her intention to upset the already stressed out human. She had in no way meant any offense. Though, when analyzing the intonation of her question, she could see why Gavin had been so aggravated with her.

As an android and former soldier, he said. She caught herself staring in the direction he had gone even after his form disappeared out the big sliding doors. I guess I should’ve known better.

She ran through all the memories she had of when her handler- her father had been discharged after losing his sight. He saved some higher-up’s life, yet no assistance had been provided. That was the reason why she was even there after all. She really should’ve known better than to ask it like that. But at the same time, who would’ve thought a human actually cared. She assumed he was doing it for the glory or something.

“Not fair, he says...” a deep voice startled Anya out of her thoughts and her LED flashed red angrily as a dozen error messages popped-up on her HUD.

She glared at the tall android standing behind her over her shoulder. “You surprised me.”

Oleg’s piercing cold gaze flickered down to assess the female android almost lazily. His face was expressionless, as it always was. “You’re that man’s assistant.”

“It’s Anya,” she says raising from her seat. “You’re Captain Oleg.”

“That is correct.” He stared her directly in the eyes as he spoke. And it was a bit disconcerting the way his voice carried so much authority at the same time it ranged slow and quiet. “I wish to speak to him.”

Anya eyed him skeptically for a moment but made a gesture for him to follow her.

Gavin was more upset than he would like to admit. He plopped down on his chair as soon as he stepped back into his office and proceeded to scatter all the files he had been studying over the desk again.

He tried to focus back on the information in front of him, but memories of Richard and Connor and Hank and everything were plaguing his thoughts.

“_Phck_!” He cursed angrily and ran a hand over his face. “Get you shit together, for phck’s sake! You’re over it. Just forget it!”

Richard’s smug grin flashed in the back of his eyes and Gavin felt a lump start growing at the base of throat. His eyes stung and he had to give himself a few moments to calm his breathing enough not to start crying. Again.

“This is getting ridiculous,” he thought out loud. It was then that the black phone at the end of his desk rang - it was the way he found to be able to communicate with Elijah and his family as often and safely as possible. They secured a dedicated line just for this.

Gavin looked at the device with a bit of dread, but picked up on the third ring. “‘_Sup_?” he said first, trying to sound cheery.

“Brother, dearest!” Elijah sang on the phone in such a loud voice Gavin had to pull away from it for a second. “How are you doing? How’s the program going?” there was a quick pause and Gavin could make out his sister-in-law’s voice in the background. “Chloe wants to know if you’re eating and sleeping properly. She said that if she finds out you’re not she’ll make you pay.” Another pause. “She also wants to know about Anya.”

Gavin smiled weakly at his brother’s word vomiting on the phone. It at least helped his heart feel a bit lighter.

“I miss you guys,” Gavin confessed with a sigh.

The line went silent. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Hey, Gavin” Chloe greeted in a soft voice. “Are you feeling ok?”

The question dragged another sigh from him. “_M’fine_... Just... Tired.”

“Have you been taking your med-”

“Lijah, if you talk about my pills every time we talk I’ll unplug this line,” Gavin warned, but there was no sharp edge to his voice. “You know I’m taking them correctly. You guys were the one that got my assistant to babysit me after all. She even makes sure I take breaks and eat, and all that...”

“Anya is great, isn’t she?” Chloe let out a small laugh.

“She’s really good at her job,” Gavin admitted, but he still felt quite bitter about their talk earlier. “Apparently she doesn’t believe in the work we’re doing here though.”

“What do you mean?” Elijah was the one speaking up this time.

“She was questioning the reason we’re helping the IRES,” Gavin grumbled annoyed. “It pissed me off...”

“Did she say that?” Chloe sounded skeptical and it threw Gavin off.

“Yes! She had this disdainful tone when she asked me why I was doing this.” Gavin leaned back on his chair, for the moment all thoughts about the past left in Detroit were gone, and he was grateful. Old habits died hard, and being angry felt much better than being sad. “I mean, she accepted the job. She knows why, and I expected her to believe in it at least a bit-”

There was some noise coming from the phone and a chuckle, “Hey, uncle Gav! I love you, I miss you!”

A big smile crossed Gavin’s features when he heard Delila’s voice. “Hey, princess! I miss you too. Are you making sure to terrorize your parents like I told you?”

“Gavin!” Chloe’s scolding voice reached his ear and he laughed.

“What? Children should be allowed to misbehave sometimes.”

“Uncle Gavin, I don’t want to be like you.” Delilah pointed out bluntly. “I don’t like getting in trouble or into fights.”

“Delilah!” Chloe sounded shocked. Gavin could hear Elijah laughing lightly in the back.

“Ouch, princess,” Gavin still had a smile on his face. “You’re right though. I see your parents are doing a great job.”

Delilah chuckled. “They totally fell for it, uncle Gav!”

There was some time of commotion going on on the other side of the line, but it soon stopped. “I have to take Delilah to ballet. It’s nice listening to your voice, Gavin. Talk again soon, dear.”

Gavin heard Elijah saying bye to both of them and the line went quiet again.

“Okay, back to the subject,” Elijah’s voice was back to his business as usual tone. “You shouldn’t make assumptions about Anya so quick, brat. She’s been through a lot with her father and I’m sure she didn’t mean to question your intentions on this program in the way you think.”

“She sure sounded like it,” Gavin mumbled, mood souring once again. “But anyway, I don’t care. I will make this shit work. Even if it’s the last thing I do-”

“So passionate,” Elijah laughed. “How is it going by the way?”

“It’s going fine,” Gavin leaned further back on his chair and put his legs on his desk. “I’m worried about that kid though. He’s clearly manipulating his results. I sat in on one of his sessions and it was painful to watch. I had to switch his doctor two times already. Since they’re having a hard time connecting with him.”

“Hmm?”

“Yeah... He’s holding on to what happened, so it’s almost impossible to make progress as it is...” Gavin sighed and just then there was a knock on his door before it was pushed open. When he looked up he found none other than Anya. That wasn’t surprising though. What was surprising was the figure standing behind her. “Brother, I’ll have to call you back.”

“Work?”

“What else?”

“Okay. Eat, sleep and all that.” Elijah sounded a bit bothered, but Gavin was just going to have to make it up to him. After all it was true they could only talk once a month. “If you don’t, you know how scary Chloe can be.”

“Yeah, buy.”

Anya had already walked out and closed the door behind her before Gavin even hung up the phone. Leaving the white-haired, threatening android standing there and staring directly at him.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long time. Gavin was used to it by now - Oleg spoke when he felt like speaking. Actually, he always did whatever he wanted.

“I heard you,” the android’s voice never failed to send chills down Gavin’s back. “When you were speaking to that woman.”

“Her name is Anya,” Gavin pointed out absentmindedly. “So?”

“I want you to help Sergeant Yoon.”

Gavin unconsciously furrowed his brows at that. “...ok?”

“I would do it myself,” the way the android said it really made it seem like he wasn’t happy to have to ask for assistance, which was pretty amusing for Gavin. “Unfortunately I’m still under restrictions that make it impossible for me to get involved in his recovery.”

Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t bother taking his feet off his desk.

“Why don’t you sit down?” he said after a small pause. “I have a proposition for you.”

Oleg openly hesitated but still sat down in the end.

The big android still had that distrustful glint in his eyes, but it wasn’t as intense as when they first met.

“Since it seems we’re both equally concerned about that kid how about we work together to help him out?”

Oleg tilted his head a bit. “Elaborate.”

_Bossy_. Gavin sighed. “Would you like to participate directly in Minho’s treatment?”

“You...” Oleg’s eyes widened a little in surprise. “You would let me-”

“What do you mean ‘I would let you’?” Gavin snapped with no real bite. “He’s a part of your team. He trusts you, and you care about him. It’s your _phcking_ right to be there for each other, man.”

Oleg was speechless. Though he made sure to not let his true emotions show on his face.

Gavin took the android’s lack of a comment as a sign to go on.

“I can sign the documents to allow you to be present during his sessions and can change your schedule a bit to accommodate that as well,” Gavin pulled his tablet from under that pile of files on his desk and started typing into it. “You won’t be able to interfere with his sessions, but whatever input you make will be taken in consideration-”

“I accept,” the android interrupted him with a hint of finality in his voice.


End file.
